Choate Supports Special Olympics as Bio-Ball Sponsor

Choate is proud to announce its support of the 11th annual Bio-Ball, a one-day basketball tournament that brings together leaders in the biotech industry to benefit Special Olympics athletes.  Choate sponsored the CEO Free Throw Contest, and seven of its attorneys and staff – practice group leaders William Asher, Jr., Dr. Brenda Jarrell and counsel Dr. Rolando Medina; associates Michael Avent and Dr. Stephanie Schonewald; and staff scientist Dr. Maria Smith – volunteered at the March 21, 2015 event at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in Cambridge.

The Bio-Ball event was created to help Massachusetts biotechnology companies get involved as volunteers and invest in the community by sponsoring a special kind of March Madness.  The money raised at Bio-Ball supports over 55 percent of the basketball activities of Special Olympics throughout Massachusetts.

The biotech and pharmaceutical companies participating in this year’s event included: Agios, Alkermes, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, ARIAD, BIND Therapeutics, Biogen Idec, bluebirdbio, Genzyme, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Moderna Therapeutics, Momenta, Novartis, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, Synageva BioPharma, Syros Pharmaceuticals and T2 Biosystems.

“We had a blast volunteering at Bio-Ball, and working with these incredible and inspiring Special Olympics athletes,” said Brenda Jarrell, Co-Chair of the Life Sciences Group at Choate.  

The marriage of the Massachusetts biotechnology industry and Special Olympics Massachusetts centers on a shared goal:  the promise of a better tomorrow.  While biotechnology companies strive to discover and create the innovations that will make for a healthier future, Special Olympics Massachusetts is dedicated to empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities and other closely related disabilities by giving them opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage and participate in a brighter tomorrow.